Just half a kilometer away from the place Shayan was staying at, a 22-year-old male was standing beneath a tree on the mountaintop. He was the same guy who broke that pot just a few hours ago. He took his rugged shirt off, his body beneath that rugged shirt was in even worse condition. Scars and fresh bruises covered his whole body. He closed his light blue eyes of his and sighed. He opened them and took a knife out from his side pocket while saying.
"Enjoy the pain." He then placed the knife on his left forearm. And stabbed it, the knife penetrated it quickly and went through his forearm. Blood was dripping down, but he was smiling, 'Faking the smile.' But it was clear that it wasn't his first time stabbing himself, as his scar bore witness to him being a regular customer of pain. Suddenly, he heard someone approaching. He picked up his shirt and started wearing it. "You were spying on me again." The man said as he approached the boy. "I've been ignoring but now tell me what is it you want?" The man asked, the boy turned around, still trying to wear his shirt but in a hurry, he couldn't get it right. "I want you to teach me, Master." The man finally showed his face from the darkness, it was Ihaan. He looked at that boy. He was hiding his left hand behind his back. "You are doing it again?" Ihaan asked. "No, I just got this one from the broken pot."
"You need to stop doing foolish things like that, and try not to enter Prodigy Academy ever again."
"Foolish? I'm learning to accept pain and enjoy it, like you. I just want to become as strong as you are, even stronger." He said with enthusiasm, Ihaan came near him. "I know who you are. You are the only Aurian whose body doesn't even emit Nur Force and you are incapable of getting an Eldris vessel, even though he is a noble. You were banished by your own family."
"What does that have to do with me becoming strong? I am different doesn't mean I am weak. I can bear pain without even flinching. I have an enhanced body. I am stronger than many upperclassmen." Ihaan looked at the boy's body, he was bulky and the torn-up shirt couldn't hide his muscles. But Ihaan focused mostly on his black hair with a little touch of light blue. He smirked as he looked at his hair and then he turned back and started walking away. "There is no use talking to you, is there? I can't teach you or give you a pass to the upcoming Prodigy Knight Selection. You have to do everything yourself. Prodigy Knight Selection is not for everyone and you don't even have the Eldris vessel to begin with. You are just an outcast. Nobles hate you and commoners also hate you. No one will be caring for you. Even if you win and manage to become a Prodigy Knight, they will make your life miserable. Just give up."
His eyes brightened as if he had heard it a million times, yet it never wavered his determination, and it won't waver now either. "My life has always been miserable. Nothing can hurt me. There's nothing left they can do to me that already hasn't happened. I've been thrown out from my own family and I've been living alone for as long as I can remember. I will become a Prodigy Knight and change the whole kingdom. I promise. Everyone who has hated me my whole life will pay. I will make them pay." He shouted. Ihaan had started walking away, but he still could hear him.
"Don't sneak up in Prodigy Academy again, if they catch you, you'll be done for," Ihaan shouted back at him.
"I will have to sneak in there, so I can get things to eat," Zayan shouted back.
After Ihaan was out of sight, Zayan picked up the knife again. The blood on his left arm was gone, and the wound had healed as well but, there was a scar. He again stabbed himself and when it's done healing, he again stabbed himself again and again and again.
On the other hand, Shayan was in his room, pondering what Ihaan had meant by enjoying the pain. He was trying to bear it, but the pain kept on increasing every hour. The shades of night had fallen. Shayan opened the door and went outside from his room so he could get some fresh air. He looked confused and his eyeballs popped out from his head as he went out. Nothing made sense to him, he hadn't gotten the time to see outside from the place he was in all he had seen was the room and the The headmaster's office. As he stepped out from the Academy's grounds, he saw something floating in the sky, it looked like a huge crust of land itself, and it took him a minute to understand that it was an island flying in the air. He was enough surprised by the flying island but looking at the sky made him ask a question to himself, 'Where the hell are stars and moon?'
There is no moon or stars in Prodigy Realm. But there still was light and he could see everything. The light was coming from small insect-like things flying all around the place. They were everywhere, they were lighting the way as far he as could see. One of those insect-like creatures flew by him, Shayan tried to catch it but his hand went through it. It was his first time getting out of Prodigy Academy, he hadn't seen anything this beautiful in his life. There he stood in the garden just outside the Prodigy Academy surrounded by emotions like happiness, pain, admiration, pain, hunger, restlessness, praise, and mostly pain. Out of everything new to him, one thing in particular caught his curiosity. There was a tree at the tip of the mountain just up ahead. It was glowing, but still, the tip of the mountain was dark and there were no flying insects around the mountain. It looked like the tree was floating in the sky. It wasn't giving off any shadow. It was shining but its light came near no other object. It was like the tree was keeping the light to itself.
Shayan had seen the mountain beneath that tree once when he was going to the The headmaster's office during the daytime, the tree hooked him. He started walking towards the mountain almost instinctively. The mountain had a slope so climbing it was no problem at all. As Shayan was almost there and the tree was in sight, he heard something. Sound of fire cracking wood. When he reached the top, he saw someone sitting by that fire, on a log. Blood dripped from his whole body, but he wasn't making any sound. He wasn't even looking at his wounds. There he sat with no shirt on. Shayan was standing right behind him. He walked to him, thinking he could help that guy. But when he saw his face, he knew this guy didn't need help.
He was smiling when he looked back at Shayan. For one second, Shayan forgot about his pain when he saw him covered in bruises and smiling. "Who did this to you?" Shayan asked him. "Hey, I know you, you are the kid who was with Master Ihaan"
"Okay. Why do you have so many cuts on your body? Who did this?" Shayan asked again as he advanced. "Did you fight some lion or something?"
"What is a lion? No one did this to me, I did it to myself. I am enjoying the pain. Where are your cuts? They must be big because Master Ihaan never teaches anyone." Zayan said as he placed both of his hands on fire, it was a cold night.
"I don't have any wounds, on the outside at least. Who are you, anyway? And why would you do that to yourself?" Shayan walked next to him and sat on the same log he was sitting on.
"I am the guy whose body could emit only a bit of Nur Energy, was rejected by Eldris, the guy who was thrown out from his family and House. Now, I am bound to live my whole life on this mountain. I am not allowed in Quwahar or any other kingdom. But I leave this mountain sometimes I go to Prodigy Academy, I sneak in and get clothes and things to eat." Zayan smiled as he said that, Shayan looked at his clothes which seemed rugged and old.
"So, what are you doing here? I mean up here, because no one comes here, like never. Other than Eshaal and Master Harun, they visit once in a while." Zayan asked, his body was still dripping blood, but the wounds were healing slowly. Shayan sighed and with a strange expression said, "I just came out to clear my head, but this tree had me curious. It is shining but it isn't lighting other things around it. It's like its keeping light just to itself. You can't see the top of the mountain from down there. It looked like a flying tree when I first laid eyes on it." Zayan placed his knife aside, "I don't know much about it either. I have heard that it was made by the second Prodigy King after he left the castle. He lived here. This tree symbolizes his selfishness. They say he knew a lot of stuff but never shared it with anyone. He kept them to himself and died with them. He became the tree, some say. Some say he made it himself and hid his knowledge in it."
Shayan's curiosity got the best of him he wanted to know about this world. "So, does another King rule you now? He rules a nation or the whole realm and how exactly big this realm is? How do they decide who will be the next king? You vote? How many Kingdoms are there?"
"Well, they teach that in the academy I guess, I don't know that because I never had someone to teach me all that. I haven't seen anything else than Prodigy Academy and the forest that surrounds it." Zayan's wounds healed completely. The blood was gone as well, just scars remained. "You had wounds on your body and blood. You can heal?"
"Yes, but if I use it again and again it will take a toll on my body and mind. But that's what I am trying to do."
"Why would you take someone's words to heart so easily? You just happened to hear them."
"He is the strongest Master after Master Harun. He has never lost a fight. But he always comes from a fight with wounds enough to kill anyone. But he keeps smiling like it's thrilling for him. He always takes a beating before fighting back, and when the other guy thinks he is done with his broken bones, he stands up and finishes the fight in just one second. People call him the Soulless. He gave up his soul to Eldris." Zayan explained it to Shayan, and he seemed enthusiastic about it.
Shayan stood up. The pain in his body was getting more and more every second, and he didn't want to cry in front of someone.
"So, you admire him." He walked past Zayan as fast as he could, but he didn't run. Shayan looked like he wanted to talk to him more, but he didn't have enough endurance to endure it any longer but he had to get the answer to one question. "What is your name?"
"It's Zayan, what's yours?" Zayan asked in return.
"Shayan, my name is Shayan and it was nice meeting you Zayan." Shayan rushed down the mountain, when he was just a few steps away from the Prodigy Academy's door, he suddenly fell flat on his face. He knew he was far enough, he turned his face up and screamed but his scream had no voice at all as if he was suppressing the voice. Tears came flowing from his eyes to his cheeks, but he wasn't crying. He manned up and stopped himself from crying, but stopping tears wasn't in his control. He laid on his back next to the gate and looked up towards the sky. He couldn't see any stars, but there were the glowing insects looked better than any star. "Enjoy the pain," He whispered to himself as he got up and started walking onwards, he had his head bowed as he walked in. The headmaster, from his office's window, was looking at him.
"You'll survive, I know you will." He said almost silently,
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